Alta Advisers Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) by 22.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,865 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the quarter. AbbVie comprises about 0.7% of Alta Advisers Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Alta Advisers Ltd’s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 196.4% in the 4th quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AbbVie in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AbbVie during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in AbbVie during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the company’s stock.

AbbVie Stock Performance

AbbVie stock opened at $170.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $300.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.94, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.54. AbbVie Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.58 and a 1-year high of $218.66.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.98 by ($0.82). AbbVie had a return on equity of 296.28% and a net margin of 7.59%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. On average, analysts expect that AbbVie Inc. will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. AbbVie’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy J. Richmond sold 29,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.90, for a total value of $6,070,159.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,985,223.60. The trade was a 40.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Perry C. Siatis sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $1,143,466.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,429,199.90. This trade represents a 20.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 113,471 shares of company stock valued at $23,426,451. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ABBV. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of AbbVie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on AbbVie from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on AbbVie from $181.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

AbbVie Profile

AbbVie Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behçet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma; Elahere to treat cancer; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers.